Christmas 2017

This year, we were lucky to have most of our immediate family out in Brooklyn (missed you SGP!) and it worked out great because Meg was in her third trimester and wasn't supposed to travel.  

Kathleen and Dave arrived Thursday night.  Meg had decided to do a 3D ultrasound to check out our little girl so she scheduled the appointment for Friday and took the day off.  Unfortunately, Gregg had to go in to work but Kathleen and Dave went along and were able to get some fun pictures of her.  

After the appointment, we grabbed lunch at Juniper Bar which was decked out in Holiday Decor.  Really got us in the holiday spirit!  From there we walked up to Bryant Park to stroll through the holiday pop up shops, try some Lady M cake, and take a peak inside the NY Public Library before heading back to Brooklyn to pick up some groceries for dinner that night.

Brad, Kelly, and Kyle arrived Friday evening and, after they got checked into their hotel, came over to our apartment for a nice family dinner.  

Saturday morning, we did our christmas gift exchange with Dave and Kathleen before heading out to meet the rest of the crew for lunch at Grand Central Oyster Bar.

From there we took the train down to the "Oculus" near One World Trade.

After some cruising around downtown, we headed back to the hotel to get freshened up before our dinner reservations at Jack the Horse Tavern in Brooklyn Heights.  

We had a wonderful dinner filled with great food and lively conversation.  Some of which included birthing stories from Kelly and Kathleen, but nonetheless, it was fun to all be together :)

Sunday morning, Christmas Eve, we had brunch at The Osprey, to fuel up before we headed out to the city to see some of the famed NYC Christmas sights!

First stop was Rockefeller Center! Meg took us up to her office to get the best view in town and then we braved the streets to check out the beautiful tree and magical lights along 5th Ave.

21 Club was a little crowded, so we opted to get drinks at the Gotham Lounge at the Peninsula Hotel.  We enjoyed some great drinks as well as some Carolers in Dickensian garb who livened up the lobby as we left.

And of course, we made our way up to The Plaza and had to take a picture by the tree :)

Third trimester leg kicks!

Fortunately, Sarabeth's across from Central Park was able to accommodate a group of seven with no reservation on Christmas Eve (what were we thinking?!). We really lucked out!

After dinner we walked back down to see more of the lights and decorated windows on 5th Ave.  To our surprise we got a little snow!  Wasn't quite the winter wonderland that some would have liked, but we enjoyed the little sprinkle that we got nonetheless.  The Californian's we were with were thrilled :P

 Kathleen and Dave headed back to our apartment for the evening while the rest of us Irvings went back to Brad and Kelly's hotel to do our Irving Christmas gift exchange.  Their room had an AWESOME view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge and they had an adjoining living room that was just perfect for all of us.  It even had a hammock!

Christmas Day! We started the day off right with some delicious room service.  The rest of the day was full of lounging, drinking, sports watching, a little game of Heads Up, and plenty of sweet treats.

Tuesday, Gregg had to go into work and Dave and Kathleen headed back to California.  Meg met Kelly, Brad, and Kyle in Dumbo for some lunch and some exploring.  A lot has changed in that area since we moved.  It was a beautiful, but brisk, day!

Tuesday night, Meg and Kelly went to Meg's 36-week doctor's appointment while the boys enjoyed some drinks at a speakeasy-type bar in the Mandarin Hotel, but the main event of the evening was dinner at Daniel! It was an amazing, unforgettable meal!

Kyle left the next morning to start getting packed up in Houston and Brad and Kelly continued to see the sights throughout the week (and brave the frigid temperatures) while we were stuck going back to work. We managed to meet up for dinner on Wednesday night at the Capital Grille near Grand Central with Uncle Bryan who had flown in for a quick visit. It was great to catch up a bit with him!

Thursday night, we took Brad and Kelly back to our favorite little Italian restaurant in our neighborhood, Mariella, and reminisced on a fantastic week before their departing flight the following morning. What a great way to finish an amazing year!

Minorca Babymoon!

This past Spring we planned a trip to Minorca for early September, hoping that it would be a "babymoon" vacation and our last Europe trip during our time in NY. And it worked out perfectly! Meg was in the middle of her 2nd trimester, the perfect time to travel (and fly for 8+ hours!). Minorca is a small island off the eastern coast of Spain in the Mediterranean. It's part of the Balearic Islands which include the better-known Ibiza and Mallorca. Minorca has remained relatively undeveloped and has a quieter way of life than the neighboring islands with an emphasis on it's natural beauty. The Balearic Islands are part of Spain's recently controversial Catalonia region and the island has a unique "Minorqueno" dialect, a mix of Catalán and Spanish. 

"You're going where?"

We headed to JFK for the overnight flight to Madrid before getting on a much smaller plane for the quick flight to Minorca.

One looooong terminal. From orange pillars....

....all the way to blue, where our gate was

Flying in to Máhon, the capital city of Minorca

We got to the hotel, Meliã Cala Galdana, in the afternoon and Meg wasted no time in changing into a suit and enjoying the warmth of the sun and the sounds of the ocean on the balcony. The hotel had multiple restaurants to choose from and that night we enjoyed an outdoor dinner at the Italian spot.

We awoke to a gorgeous day the next morning and were amazed by the stunning water! The hotel had an activities schedule for people who wanted to exercise outside of the gym with an instructor so we picked a few classes we wanted to do over the course of the week. 

Gregg's favorite yoga pose

After yoga, we wanted to hike to a beach about a mile west of the hotel that we had heard great things about from our airport driver and the concierge. Interesting fact about Minorca's history, as a way to protect the island from invaders over the centuries, the locals built a trail, the Camí de Cavalls (Horse Road) along the coast of the entire island so they could raise a defense force quickly. The trail remains protected today and is used for leisure or access to remote coves and beaches. 

Cala Macarelleta, our destination, in the background

Took the incredible view as an opportunity to announce: "We're having a girl!!"

Can't tell you how many times we said to each other: "Look at that WATER!!"

Hiking back in to Cala Galdana (our hotel is the giant white building) after a long day at the beach and went straight to the pool to relax with a cool refreshing drink

Went for a walk through the adjacent neighborhood in Cala Galdana and loved the traditional style of the homes, especially the terra cotta tile gutters

Another day, we took a spin class (Gregg's first time!) and enjoyed getting our butts kicked! After breakfast, we decided to hike east to another cove and beach, Cala Mitjana.  That night we had another wonderful dinner at the Level Restaurant which had traditional Mediterranean cuisine with Spanish flavor.

Small aviary on the hotel grounds

A group of daredevils lined up to cliff dive while we joined the "judges" treading water

Midway through the week was Gregg's 29th birthday so we celebrated that evening by going on a boat cruise along the coast! Our guide was a local biologist who knew every cave and cove for miles. The coastline was absolutely breathtaking and we got to do some snorkeling at a couple of the stops. So much fun!

Gregg got a local beer and the "Minorca pizza", made with 2 well-known local products: Mahon cheese and Minorcan sobrassada, their equivalent of sopressata.

There's a goat in that cave! We couldn't see how it possibly could've got there from the sheer cliff but our guide said it's actually a very common sight. 

The last day we wanted to go back to Cala Macarelleta again because we loved it so much the first time. Later we lounged at the pool cabana then enjoyed one more breath-taking sunset on the balcony before another delicious dinner.

Awesome Euro-style haircut :)

It was a fantastic, relaxing week! Exactly what we were hoping for for our babymoon. Now we get to focus on getting our apartment ready for the new roommate! :P